Graduate Program: PhD in Biostatistics (2016)
Title & Institution: Associate Professor in Statistics & Data Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Edward Kennedy, PhD is a Penn alum through and through—prior to completing his PhD in Biostatistics in 2016, he earned his BA in Mathematics (2007) and MA in Statistics (2014) from the University of Pennsylvania. He also obtained his MS in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan in 2009. During his time as a doctoral student, Dr. Kennedy was advised by Penn faculty members, Dylan Small, PhD, the Universal Furniture Professor and the Chair of the Department of Statistics and Data Science at The Wharton School; and Marshall Joffe, MD, MPH, PhD, a Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, who passed in 2021.
Dr. Kennedy is an Associate Professor in Statistics & Data Science in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, accepting a faculty position in 2016 after the completion of his PhD in Biostatistics. His research interests lie at the intersection of causal inference, machine learning, and nonparametric theory, especially in settings involving high-dimensional and otherwise complex data. His applied work focuses on problems in criminal justice, health services, medicine, and public policy. Dr. Kennedy is a recipient of the Mortimer Spiegelman Award for outstanding contributions to health statistics, the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, and the Thomas Ten Have Award for exceptional research in causal inference.
We recently connected with Dr. Kennedy about his academic journey and experiences as a PhD student in the Graduate Group in Epidemiology and Biostatistics (GGEB) at the University of Pennsylvania.
What is a typical day like in your current role as a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University?
On average, I have a few one-on-one meetings with PhD students, spend some time teaching or prepping for teaching, save a few hours for working on my own research, and do some administrative/service work.
What do you value most about your current role?
To me, the most important part of my job is the independence—I get to work on any topics that captivate me. It doesn’t matter if it’s profitable to a company or immediately applicable to applied problems or not, I can pursue any topic I find interesting or important.
Why did you choose the Graduate Group in Epidemiology & Biostatistics program?
Nandita Mitra (Professor of Biostatistics, DBEI) was instrumental in my decision. She showed me the flexibility of the GGEB PhD program and set me up with my initial PhD advisor, Marshall Joffe, who was instrumental in teaching me so much about causal inference and giving me opportunities to work on super interesting projects.
What faculty member, mentor, or course was most influential for you and why?
I learned so much from my PhD advisors, Marshall Joffe and Dylan Small—two of the most intelligent, generous, and inspiring people I’ve ever met, and I could never thank them enough for all their help and guidance over the years.
What was the most meaningful part of your experience in the program?
Probably the most meaningful part of my experience was the people. In addition to my PhD advisors, I was so lucky to interact regularly with other faculty members, such as Nandita Mitra, Russell T. Shinohara (Professor of Biostatistics, DBEI), Zongming Ma (Professor of Statistics and Data Science, Yale University), Jason Roy (Adjunct Professor of Biostatistics, DBEI), as well as my fellow PhD students, Bret Zeldow, Julie Kobie, Emin Tahirovic, and others. All these people made the experience of obtaining a PhD a lot of fun.
What is one piece of advice that you would offer current or aspiring students?
For advice, I would suggest trying to work on things you find interesting and exciting. Completing a PhD is a lot of hard work and if you aren’t having fun along the way, it can become a slog.
What is on the horizon for you in terms of your career goals or research path?
I want to keep learning and exploring exciting topics and having fun with new projects.